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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22621651">you're in the dark (my aurora)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/princejoonie/pseuds/princejoonie'>princejoonie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i don’t care, i’m still free [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Firefly Setting, Alternate Universe - Space, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Late Night Conversations, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Space Pirates, Stargazing, They are so in love, hongjoong is bad at feelings but he's trying, hongjoong promised seonghwa to show him the aurora, the aurora is pretty but seonghwa is prettier, very self indulgent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:40:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22621651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/princejoonie/pseuds/princejoonie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hongjoong had always promised Seonghwa that he would show him the aurora one day, occasionally dropping by planets that were known for sightings in hopes that they would eventually be lucky. They never were.<br/>It’s funny, really, how the things that you have wanted so dearly only seem to come to you when you stop searching so intently.</p><p>(or, Hongjoong talks to the stars and finally shows Seonghwa the aurora)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i don’t care, i’m still free [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845376</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you're in the dark (my aurora)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a very sentimental, self-indulgent short piece that I wrote late at night as I planned the full blown space scavengers au fic that this is actually a part of. You don't really need any story context or knowledge of firefly lore to read this, so please just enjoy these two boys being incredibly in love under the night sky. </p><p>If you do like this, I am possibly going to write multichapter fic set in this universe over the summer following a full plot with all of Ateez (and some side Woosang too ;p) depending if i can flesh out the story enough &gt;__&gt; This is simply a look into that story when Hongjoong and Seonghwa get together. (Or I might just write the odd short fics here and there set in this universe because I love it a lot~)</p><p>Here's a playlist of a few Ateez songs that fit this fic perfectly if you really want to set the mood: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rNeAT68HhxAMCKIvn2xOP </p><p>Thank you for reading, enjoy !!&lt;33</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hongjoong never thought there would be anything in the universe that would be more breathtaking than the aurora.</p><p>It was a rare beauty tucked away in the northernmost corners of the solar system that occurred unpredictably: fleeting moments late at night when the sky was painted with hues of emerald and scarlet and the world simply stopped for a moment in quiet appreciation of this phenomenon.</p><p>He had experienced the aurora two times in his life. Once, after the war when the independents, exhausted and utterly defeated, had retreated back to the outer planets in search of resources to attempt building a new life. On a tiny run down world with the aurora glimmering above him, he bought an old Star 1117 ship using the last of his money he scraped together from an elderly man who told him to never let his spark for adventure go.</p><p>Second, well, that was now. Hongjoong had always promised Seonghwa that he would show him the aurora one day, occasionally dropping by planets that were known for sightings in hopes that they would eventually be lucky. They never were.</p><p>Tonight, they hadn’t even come to this world with the desire to witness the natural wonder, merely seeking the nearest place to rest and restock. It’s funny, really, how the things that you have wanted so dearly only seem to come to you when you stop searching so intently.</p><p>It was late when they landed, and after a sweeping look over his crew who were evidently shaken by their recent excursion, he let them retire to their quarters to get some proper rest. They did so gratefully, hugging him good night and telling him sternly to go to sleep as well and not stress too much. Hongjoong chuckled and promised he would try his best.</p><p>And he did try, but an hour later when he was still awake, his mind racing at a million miles per hour, he decided that he had enough. Quietly, he slipped out of bed and grabbed a jacket before padding across the walkway to the ladder that would take him to the roof of Utopia. The nighttime air was cold when he emerged out of the ship, but he paid it little mind as he curled up against a ridge of metal on the roof and gazed up at the stars.</p><p>When he was a kid, his mother said that the stars held all of the secrets in the universe. Secrets whispered to them in trembling voices of anxious people left with nowhere else to turn, secrets admitted at 3am when tongues are loosened and the truth falls from their lips, secrets that aren’t disclosed, but they witness, hidden away in the darkness where no one thinks they can be seen. Yet they are seen. The stars remain the sole spectators to some of the most tender gestures, the most anguished breakdowns, and the most despicable acts. They see all, know all, and keep that knowledge safe.</p><p>Hongjoong liked talking to the stars. He figured after everything they had seen and heard, they would be the least likely to judge his petty woes. They would just listen, as they listen to everything, and tuck his words away snugly among the rest. Words that are proof that he is human like the rest of the people in this universe, with worries and doubts that weigh on his mind and secret hopes and dreams that he finds a little too hard to confess. Perhaps they offered no real reassurance or solution, but they listened, removed and unbiased. In these moments, Hongjoong spoke to them and their attention was focused on him, and that’s all he really needed.</p><p>He heard a soft laugh behind him then, and he raised his head wearily to see Seonghwa climbing out onto the roof. “I figured I would find you here.” His first mate smiled at him gently. “Can’t sleep?”</p><p>Hongjoong hummed in response, “My mind is too loud," he said as a way of explanation.</p><p>“Fair.” Seonghwa didn’t push him further. “Is it okay if I join you?”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>They lapsed into silence as Seonghwa settled next to him. Vaguely, Hongjoong wondered why Seonghwa was still awake, but he wasn’t about to pester him. If anything, he knew that Seonghwa understood the ‘my mind is too loud’ statement far too well.</p><p>“Do you think the stars hold the answers to our problems?” Hongjoong asked after a while. “With the things they know and see, they could probably give a response to all the questions we have in life.”</p><p>“Mm, probably,” Seonghwa agreed. “Shame they don’t tell us though. It would make a lot of things easier.”</p><p>“What assholes.”</p><p>Seonghwa snorted, “At least you know that any secrets are eternally safe with them.”</p><p>“Wish they could be snitches when it’s useful though. Like knowing what to do next so you don’t horribly endanger your crew. Or whether to be honest about something you’re scared to say.” Hongjoong narrowed his eyes at Seonghwa’s amused expression. “Hey, don’t laugh at me!”</p><p>“I’m not, I’m not,” Seonghwa said, definitely laughing a bit. “I think you need to trust yourself a little more though. You know your crew, your ship, your life, better than any star does. Me and the crew trust that you will make the best decisions for all of us.”</p><p>Hongjoong sighed as he propped himself up a little higher against the ridge on the ship. “Sometimes I just don’t know though. I don’t know at all.”</p><p>“That’s okay, you don’t have to know everything as the Captain.” Seonghwa’s hand found Hongjoong’s, intertwining their fingers and giving it that familiar, comforting squeeze. “We don’t expect you to. You should know by now that I, we, are here to help you whenever you’re lost and alleviate some of your burden in whatever way. You never have to carry it alone.”</p><p>Hongjoong didn’t reply. Just stared at his and Seonghwa’s hands and tightened his grip, feeling unbidden tears building in his eyes. He did know that his crew were there for him, always, and he trusted them fiercely in ways he could never fully put into words. And Seonghwa, his first mate who had been there from the very beginning when he was a lone scavenger doing everything he could just to keep his ship flying, had never once left his side. Seonghwa had been a constant, grounding presence through even his lowest points as he sobbed pathetically into his shirt and cursed himself for ever thinking he was apt enough to captain a ship and a wonderful, loyal, trusting crew. Hongjoong knew he would be lost without his crew, but he would certainly be long dead without Seonghwa. That thought terrified him more than he would want to acknowledge.</p><p>“Oh!” Seonghwa suddenly exclaimed. “Hongjoong, look!”</p><p>Hongjoong raised his head to see Seonghwa beholding the sky, his eyes shimmering.</p><p>The sky, that minutes ago was simply decorated with stars, now held long strokes of vibrant colours, like god had taken a neon paint brush and swept it through the darkness. The lights rippled and danced, stretching their striking shades of pink and green beyond the horizon.</p><p>“You kept your promise,” Seonghwa said earnestly, tugging on Hongjoong’s hand. When Hongjoong’s gaze shifted to Seonghwa’s face, he forgot how to breathe. His expression was bright, excited, his lips pulled into a smile far more brilliant than the lights above them that swaddled him in a rosy glow. “You finally showed me the aurora.”</p><p>“Do you like it?” Hongjoong whispered.</p><p>“I really do, you were right, it’s so beautiful.” There was something in Seonghwa’s eyes that was so warm, so gentle as he smiled at Hongjoong so fucking softly like he had just given him the perfect gift.</p><p>“You’re beautiful.” The words slipped out before Hongjoong could stop himself. Seonghwa choked, his cheeks flushing as his expression morphed from shocked to embarrassed to shy and something a bit like.. hope?</p><p>“You really think so?” Seonghwa asked quietly.</p><p>Maybe the stars kept secrets til the end of time, but the aurora brought out honesty in its radiance. There was nowhere left to hide when it shone down on you, leaving your heart and soul illuminated and laid bare in front of you. And so, under the aurora with his sleep-deprived mind letting his innermost thoughts escape, Hongjoong told him.</p><p>“The aurora is nothing compared to you,” he said, taking Seonghwa’s other hand in his own as well. “I have travelled this entire solar system, seen the birth and death of stars, visited planets that are renowned for their beauty, and nothing has ever come remotely close to you.”</p><p>For the first time, Seonghwa didn’t seem to know what to say. Hongjoong waited patiently, watching his face become pinker fondly. He wasn’t afraid, not anymore at least. He and Seonghwa had been together so long that he could barely remember a time that he wasn’t in his life in some capacity, and the intense trust he held with this man before him was unfathomable.</p><p>“You’ve taken me to countless stunning places over the years,” Seonghwa murmured eventually. “And I’ve admired them all extensively and loved every minute of it. But I think… none of that will ever beat how gorgeous you are when you’re in the midst of an adventure. The way your eyes light up and your smile when we discover something new and exciting might just be my favourite sight in the universe.”</p><p>God, Hongjoong loved him. He loved him so deeply and intensely that it made his chest ache.</p><p>“Exploring the universe with you by my side is the happiest I’ve ever been.” And it really was. Hongjoong didn’t think he knew the true meaning of happiness before Seonghwa agreed to fly away with him, a ruggedy scavenger with a ship that was practically left for scrap and a ludicrous dream he was stubborn enough to follow.</p><p>Seonghwa just looked at him for a long moment like he couldn’t believe he was real. Then the next moment, he was leaning in and as their lips met, it was a feeling that Hongjoong could only describe as coming home. The kiss was sweet and unhurried, Hongjoong melting into Seonghwa’s warmth as he drew him in closer, moving his hands to frame his cheeks. They kissed as the aurora gazed down on them affectionately, bathing them in light and soaking in their love.</p><p>When Hongjoong pulled away slightly, his lips still brushing Seonghwa’s, to utter three words that held all the sincerity that he had before obscured, the stars listened on and smiled. Some secrets they protected were a burden, some were woeful, and some… well they were touching, and a sad sort of beautiful. There were secrets that they desperately wanted to be shared, secrets that they were always rooting for to be revealed and turned into a happy ending.</p><p>If nothing else, they were forever elated that this was one of them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading !! pls leave kudos if you enjoyed and let me know what you think! follow my twt for updates on wips &amp; general crying about ateez  <a href="https://twitter.com/woosanger">woosanger</a> &lt;33</p></blockquote></div></div>
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